Many processes and compositions are known in the art for making food products derived from dehydrated starch ingredients. Although processing of these products has been carried out for years, problems are still encountered in reproducing, within a narrow (and predictable) range, product textures, flavors and expansion ratios that ensure the manufacture of products having consistent quality. Many farinaceous snack products are made from “half-products.” Problems associated with the expansion properties of half-products—e.g., the amount of oil absorbed during expansion when frying the half-products and the texture and flavor of the finished snacks—have placed added importance on developing dough formulas that can be used to produce expanded snacks which are lower in oil and have improved textures and flavors relative to conventional expanded snacks.
Farinaceous products comprising dehydrated fruits, grains and vegetables, and in particular potatoes, have become extremely popular. Among the most popular products are fabricated potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels and extruded or puffed products. Farinaceous products are generally made by combining water, flavorings, emulsifiers and other materials with dehydrated starch ingredients. The mixture is then typically extruded and/or sheeted and cooked (e.g., via baking or frying) to form the final product. Control over the taste and other organoleptic properties of the finished product is largely dependent on the physicochemical and organoleptic properties of the starting dehydrated ingredient(s).
By utilizing the improved emulsifier system of the present invention, manufacturers and producers of raw material ingredients for starch-based farinaceous snacks can increase production rate, decrease production costs, or both. When raw material suppliers can offer better raw materials to formulators and manufacturers of various farinaceous food products, the formulators and manufacturers may be in substantially better control of the microstructure, resulting in improvements in flavor display, appearance, texture, and/or eating quality of the resulting formulated food.
Additionally, utilization of the improved emulsifier system of the present invention can minimize changes in product aging (i.e., staling). Further, the emulsifier system may reduce the oil content of the fried or baked fabricated farinaceous snack.
The improved emulsifying system of the present invention further provides increased flexibility in the process of formulating snacks using rice, wheat, corn and potato (e.g., granules, flakes or other dehydrated potato forms) ingredients. This leads to potential cost reduction, flavor improvement or both. Further, with the improved emulsifier system of the present invention it is possible to formulate various products (baked as well as fried) that exhibit a range of microstructures and textures.
Also important in the fabricated farinaceous foods industry is the cost and speed of the manufacturing process. The improved emulsifier system of the present invention provides process control optimization that allows the maximization of line speed control to be formulated and manufactured (e.g. tailored microstructure).
The emulsifier system also provides farinaceous food products which exhibit improved dough antisticking properties; these anti-stick properties are important to aid in formulation, processing and manufacturing flexibility, and are particularly important in the manufacture of embossed snacks such as, for example, Pringles Ridges®. Additionally, these anti-stick properties are important in relatively “weak” doughs (e.g., reduced sheet strength) such as doughs used for crackers and tortillas.
The improved emulsifier system of the present invention can be used to reduce the level of emulsifier needed in the dehydration process. In particular, it reduces the level of the emulsifier(s) needed as a processing aid in the drum drying operation. This reduces the cost of raw materials, as well as the potential for formation of off-flavors due to oxidation. In addition, the improved emulsifier system of the present invention may reduce potato cell breakage in the drum drying operation, which results in higher levels of flavor precursors. This results in farinaceous food products of improved flavor.
For a fat-free snack such those fried in olestra, the level of emulsifiers in the dehydrated starch ingredients may be decreased. This allows the formulator to increase the level of other sources of triglycerides and still provide the reduced level of fat in the finished product necessary in most territories to make the fat-free claim.
Further, the improved emulsifier system of the present invention may reduce the agglomeration issues of potato cells during fluidization and spray drying in the manufacturing of granules.